LPGA Tour players have embraced new equipment, new technology and become physically stronger, allowing them to carry greater distances and hit longer shots with each club in the bag.
Back in the 1990s, power-hitters like Dame Laura Davies stood out from the crowd and in 1992 when the LPGA first started collecting driving distance stats, Davies’ 258.87 yards was 20 yards longer than the next longest hitter, Juli Inkster. To put this into context, in today’s modern era, Germany’s Polly Mack claimed the 2023 LPGA average driving-distance crown with 281.75 yards.
Other big-name players such as Lexi Thompson, Nelly Korda and Emily Pedersen have the ability to consistently bomb their drives around 280 yards. Of course, there have been so many advancements in technology, but Davies’ driving distance in her heyday would have ranked her 63rd on the list.
Over the past five to 10 years, most LPGA Tour players have seen their distances creep up. For example, in 2013, Spain’s Carlota Ciganda was driving the ball an average distance of 255 yards, but fast forward to 2023 and she’s gained over 10 yards with an average of 267 yards.
Six-time LPGA winner Celine Boutier is not one of the longest hitters, but compared to when she joined the LPGA Tour in 2017 and drove the ball on average 235 yards, she’s upped that distance to 253 yards.
The latest Trackman data shows that LPGA Tour players carry their drives 223 yards with a club-head speed of 96 mph, which encourages a ball speed of 143 mph and a maximum height of 26 yards off the ground.
By comparison, PGA Tour players carry the ball 282 yards off the tee with a club-head speed of around 115 mph, a ball speed of 171 mph, which flies to a height of 35 yards.
As for female amateur golfers, and according to the latest Arccos data, they drive the ball 177 yards on average, which almost equates to the same carry distance of a female tour player’s hybrid, which is 178 yards.
In terms of 3-wood and 5-wood, female tour players averaged 200 yards and 189 yards, respectively, in 2023. A 4-iron is Charley Hull's favourite club, and while the LPGA Tour average for that club was 175 yards, the English woman is likely to send it way past that number with her equivalent.
There is minimal difference in the carry distance between a hybrid at 178 yards and 4-iron at 175 yards, but then the data shows consistent gapping of between 10-12 yards from a 5-iron at 166 yards down through the rest of the set to a PW, which these women carry around 111 yards.
Here are the LPGA Tour averages for you all as wellPerhaps this is more realistic for most players who the at a recreational level🙂 pic.twitter.com/HDbmTtZGWKMay 2, 2024
HOW FAR DO LPGA TOUR PLAYERS HIT EVERY CLUB IN THE BAG?
Data: Trackman, 2024
